Basketball is for Boys
by Pappii
Summary: “Basketball is for boys. Cheer leading is for girls. It has, and always will be, like that. We don't need girls like you on our team, or at our school. You shouldn't even be here.” Maybe Hyuuga was right. Maybe I didn't belong here.'


Heyo. I'm at a stand still on KC. I have half the next chapter written up but I have lost all other inspiration for it. Which is why I'm starting this. It will start off as a one-shot but if enough people like it, then I will continue it. And this one actually has a set plot! Well... sorta... at least about as close as you will get with me xD I've had the idea for this stuck in my head for a while now, almost three months.

Enjoy :)

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**Summary:** "Basketball is for boys. Cheer leading is for girls. It has, and always will be, like that. We don't need girls like you on our team, or at our school. You shouldn't even be here." Maybe Hyuuga was right. Maybe I didn't belong here. I was, after all, just an orphan who got lucky.**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, cause Kishi blocked me when I asked him if I could buy the rights to it off him.

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"I'll see you later, hon."

I looked up from where I sat on my bed, up at the blond who stood in the doorway to my room. In front of me was my laptop, lightly playing an instrumental song.

"You've eaten, haven't you?" she asked me. I gave a nod, no words. She smiled softly. "Good. You need me to get anything while I'm out?" I shook my head, again making no audible noise. She smiled a bit bigger and walked over to my bed and pulled me into a hug. "Ignore the others. You are here because you deserve to be here, not because you come from a rich family who will buy you anything you desire."

I gave a light smile and hugged her back. Satisfied that she had cheered me up, even if it was only momentarily, she released me from the kind, motherly embrace then left my room, heading out for the town.

Temari was one of the only three people at our school who had accepted me. She was 18, three years older than myself, in her last year of school. We had been room mates since I had first arrived, just over a year ago. When she had first met me, she showed me nothing but hatred and ice, because she thought I would be just another of those preppy girls with the rich businessmen for dads who would buy anything for their little girl. It didn't take her long to warm up to me. In fact, as soon as she was told where I was from, and what background I had, she had taken me under my wing. She was just like me. She was a student at Konoha Preparatory School for Skilled Athletes and Academics for the exact same reason as I was. We were both on Scholarships. We had both earned our way into Konoha Prep through hard work, not through our fathers wallets.

But my personality wasn't the only reason I wasn't getting on with the students. It was also because of my upbringing. Up until my tenth birthday, I was one of a pair of twins, growing up in a family who managed to get by on a meager income, with my mother, father and my twin brother, Sei. Now, I was one of a pair of twins, separated from my brother, at a private boarding school with only one person to count on and no family to go home to. My parents had died, not long after my tenth birthday, when our house caught on fire. For four years, Sei and I were passed between foster homes in the same area, managing to stay in the same school the entire time by pure luck. Now, I was in Konoha on a scholarship and Sei had a permanent home in Suna, being home schooled.

Basically, I was an orphan on a scholarship. But the others didn't care. All they saw in me was the orphan and, because of that, I didn't belong in the school full of the rich kids.

I heaved a heavy sigh and closed my laptop. It was almost 11pm. Temari wouldn't be back for another hour at least. She always went out on Friday nights and wouldn't come back until after midnight. On the weekends, I was always the first one up, mainly because she would have a hangover. I would make breakfast tomorrow morning, most likely home made pancakes alongside a tall glass of chocolate-banana milkshake, just like I made every Saturday per request. Her brothers would probably come over, like they did every Saturday just to eat the breakfast I made. Then Temari would probably go out to the mall for the day with her girlfriends, offering if I wanted to come, even though I would always give the same answer, and the eldest of her brothers would offer to take me to watch the games that took place every Saturday morning, to which I would decline as well. I would stay in my room, talking to my brother on the instant messenger, study, finish any homework then maybe sneak down to the gym while no-one was there to practice some basketball.

I looked around my almost completely bland room. I didn't have many decorations up, mainly because I didn't own many, and the room had just enough room for a desk and a single bed, alongside the walk-in wardrobe tucked away in the wall. Temari's room was the larger of the two, but I didn't mind. I didn't need a big room.

I slid off the bed and placed the laptop on the desk, before picking up a photo frame. The photo inside was an old one, at least 6 years old. It was of myself and my brother before the fire. It also had my brother's pet crow, Kurohato. The bird hadn't died in the fire itself, but he had died after due to a crushed chest after one of the tables collapsed on him and Sei saved him. I gave another sigh and placed the photo down, facing it away from view. I hated the photo. There were too many memories associated with it, yet I had the urge to keep it out.

Giving a yawn, I turned my back on the desk and slipped into my bed, beginning the countdown of the three hours I would have to wait until sleep finally took over, provided Temari came home alone this time, and did so quietly, unlike a few weeks ago when she tripped over the edge of the rug and fell asleep, her bottom half on the floor, her head resting on one of the stools we had to sit on at the kitchen bench.

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I pulled myself out of my bed, pulling my curtain open as I walked past it. The sun was just peeking over the town that I had a perfect view of through my window. The town was just beyond the school sports fields, which were already filled with soccer and football teams warming up for their Saturday games.

I left my room, opening the curtains in the main room of our flat. Our flat had five rooms: two bedrooms, one larger than the other, two bathrooms, ideal for the girls who liked long showers and the largest room, which was split into a kitchen and a lounge by a bench which was usually used as a table. The kitchen was quite large and the lounge had a pair of French doors out onto a balcony which over looked the sports fields. I didn't know how the other rooms interior was laid out, but almost every room came with a balcony over looking the fields.

I pulled open the French doors then walked past Temari's door, peeking in to see her hanging half off her bed, snoring quietly. I smiled and shook my head lightly. It wasn't the sight you would expect to see an almost completely feminine top-ranked dancer in but I had photos to prove it.

I walked into the kitchen and looked up at the clock. It was almost nine o'clock. In half an hour, Temari would wake up at the exact moment her brothers arrived. I sighed. I had slept in. I grabbed out a clean glass bowl, before digging through our cupboards for the flour and set to making the pancakes.

I looked up at the clock again. Twenty-nine minutes past nine. I placed the last plate of pancakes down on the breakfast bar and began making my way to the door. Like clockwork, a knock came just as I reached for the door handle. I pulled the door open slowly, peering round it to see who it was, like I was always did, before pulling the door right open. I indicated towards the breakfast bar with my head slightly and the two boys entered the room. We never said anything until Temari joined us. It was like a ritual we had worked ourselves into almost accidentally.

As I joined the boys at the breakfast bar, sitting on my stool on the kitchen side, Temari emerged from her room, carrying the glass I had placed by her bed with the aspirin while I was making breakfast.

"Morning, Temari," the three of us said in unison as she sat down on her stool.

"Morning guys," she said drowsily, giving a yawn before picking up her glass and chugging half of it before picking up her knife and fork. "Looks good, Rain."

I smiled and picked up my own cutlery and we all began eating, talking and laughing along the way. I loved hanging out with Temari and her brothers. I found it hard to believe they were related at all when I first meet them.

The oldest of the two, but younger than Temari, was Kankuro. He was a year younger than Temari, two older than me. His brunette hair and dark brown eyes, along with the smirk gave him the atmosphere of a game-loving flirt. He was the lead singer of a band at our school, and he had a great voice. His band had performed many times in assemblies, awing the audience every time. He was really kind to me, helping me with my homework all the time, almost treating me like a younger sister, though without all the pranks. Once, he had tried to scare me with a fake spider. He couldn't sit down for the rest of the weekend.

Temari had shown me a picture of their family, back when it was just her, Kankuro and their parents. Kankuro was so much like their father, what with the hair, the eyes and even the expression. Though, none of them talked about their father, or their mother, for some strange reason. I remember Temari mentioning something to do with her youngest brother, Gaara, once.

Gaara was the stand out of the lot. Unlike his siblings, he shared no resemblance to either of their parents. His red hair and green eyes made for an interesting combination on the boys cold face. He never talked much, and when he did, it was usually to growl at someone or make a simple statement to make everyone shut up. It was a strange skill he had. Someone could yell and yell at a crowd of people to shut up, yet Gaara could silence them all with a cold voice only decibels above a whisper. I guess his eyes were what scared me the most. The cold green eyes, full of hate towards those who had shown hatred towards him, though for reasons unknown to me. I had always wanted to ask, but I didn't, out of fear for my life.

Gaara was the first to finish, as always. I had pondered that fact once and decided that it was because he ate in silence, listening to the strange conversations Kankuro and I had, while Temari just rolled her eyes and laughed at us, occasionally throwing in a word or two here and there. He stood up from the bar, placed his plate and cup in the sink and headed towards the door. Before opening it, he turned back to us, bowed slightly and then left in silence.

The three of us stared at the door for a moment in silence before Temari stood and dumped her plate and cup alongside Gaara's. She grabbed her bag off one of the couches in the lounge area then headed towards the door, both Kankuro and myself following her with our gazes.

"Did you guys want to come down to the mall?" she asked, even though she knew what our answer would be. "I'm going to buy a gift for cousin Sasori. He is coming to town tomorrow night. Don't forget we have dinner with him, Kankuro."

"Yeah, whatever," Her brother said, waving her off as he returned to his food. Temari sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'll see ya," she said opening the door. "I won't be home for lunch, and I'll grab us some noodles on the way home, Rain." She smiled to us both before leaving, closing the door softly behind her.

"You," I looked over at Kankuro who had maple syrup on both edges of his mouth and was jabbing his fork at me. Sometimes I wondered why he even used it. "Need to get out more. I was planning on going down to the fields to watch the games. Did you want to come with?"

I shook my head, placing my dishes beside the sink and began to run the water, preparing it to wash the dishes.

"I'm good," I said softly. It was the same every weekend. Every Saturday when the boys came over for breakfast, Gaara wouldn't say anything, Temari would invite me and Kankuro to the mall, we would decline, then Kankuro would ask me if I wanted to go to watch the sports with him and his band. He would always say it was him but he never went any where without Kiba and Shikamaru, except to visit us in the mornings on Saturday, though he would only tell them he was visiting Temari. "I wouldn't want to kill your reputation. Besides, Inuzuka and Nara would start asking questions, wouldn't they?"

I turned my back on him and began to wash the dishes, cringing lightly at the hot temperature of the water. I noticed out of the corner of my eye Kankuro nodding then moving, before a hand appeared in front of me, dropping the dishes into the sink, his free hand snaking around my waist.

"I guess so," he said, resting his chin on my shoulder. At first, his close touch would freak my out. I almost blinded him the first time he did it when I flicked the boiling hot soapy water into his eyes. Now, it was just something that happened. Part of a routine. I felt his warm breath on my ear as he gave a sigh. "I still don't understand why everybody else hates you. It's not like you are any different from them. Well, you are. You are a lot kinder than them and I doubt any of them could make a breakfast like you do."

I smiled, stacking the clean dishes in the dish rack to drip dry, before pulling the plug out of the sink and letting the water drain out noisily. I flicked my gaze up to the clock. Half past ten. I gave a light sigh.

"If you are going to go watch the games," I said, drying my hands on a tea towel before laying it over the clean dishes. "You may want to go soon before you miss the start of them."

Kankuro lifted his head from my shoulder and looked up at the clock.

"You're right," he said, turning me around and pulling me into a hug. "Well, I'll see you later. I'll stop by after lunch if you are still here. I'm going out to town for lunch so I'll bring you back something."

"Thanks," I said, smiling and hugging him back. Saturdays were so predictable, but I didn't mind.

Kankuro broke the hug and turned his back on me, heading towards the door.

"See ya," He called to me, before leaving the flat, leaving me standing alone in the kitchen, smirking at how predictable my life had become.

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"Dammit."

I cursed under my breath as the ball came bouncing back towards me, the noise echoing in the otherwise empty gym. The ball stopped bouncing and rolled towards my feet, where it stopped. I looked down at it, my shoulders sagged slightly, and gave sigh. I'd begun to work out a pattern with my shooting. When I didn't mean for it go into the basket, it would, and whenever someone was watching, or approaching where I was shooting, it would miss. I looked at my watch set on my left wrist. Twenty-nine minutes and fifty-five seconds past noon. Fifty-six... Fifty-seven... Fifty-eight... Fifty-nine...

"What are you doing here?"

Bingo. Right on time. I didn't bother turning around to see who it was, because I knew exactly what I would find.

One Neji Hyuuga. Captain of the 16-and-under basketball team. Long hair that should be on a girls head reaching his waist and a pair of light lavender, almost white, eyes that had a constant cold glare; always wears a strange bandage around his forehead for some reason.

Shikamaru Nara, better known as the drummer from Kankuro's band. Dark brown, almost black, eyes with dark brown hair tied back in a high ponytail, giving him the image of a pineapple. Constantly complaining about how everything is so troublesome. Main strategist of the basketball team; co-captain.

Kiba Inuzuka, third member of Kankuro's band. Bassist. Black eyes, brown messy hair and a constant doggish smirk plastered on his cocky face, framed by a pair of red 'fangs' tattooed onto his cheeks. Same game-loving flirty attitude as Kankuro, accompanied by a hint of cockiness.

Sasuke Uchiha. Black eyes and raven hair. Teenage heart throb, wanted by almost every single girl in the school, though he wants nothing to do with them. Cold-hearted attitude, top of almost every class he was in. Perfect aim with a ball, no matter what sport.

Naruto Uzumaki. Classic blonde hair, blue eyes. Loud, annoying and really crappy grades, only just managing to scrape by in academics, excelling in most kinesthetic classes. Sasuke's 'official' rival. Constantly wanting to prove himself to everyone, and always hanging of Sasuke.

Basically, they were the starting five of the basketball team, and all of them hated me. They hated having a girl on the team, and, because we had no true coach, I was always forced to do everything for them and failed to get any court time. I tried hard not to complain or do anything, which I had managed to do for more than a year. If I was asked to do something, I would just nod and do so without arguing, which seemed to make them walk all over me more.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you."

I bent down and picked up my ball, holding it under one arm, still not turning to face them. It was the Hyuuga who spoke, just like he did every time, with the same cold, emotionless tone. I had learned quickly that if you don't listen to the Hyuuga, then one of the others will use physical force, usually Inuzuka or Uchiha. I thought for a moment on who it would be. We were near the edge of the court so I would probably be thrown against the wall by Kiba, unless Hyuuga decided to let Sasuke do his thing and thrown down onto the ground. Either way, I was ready and couldn't care less about what happened to me.

"Last warning, Tamako."

I rolled my eyes, out of sight of Neji. Much like I did to him, he referred to me by my last name rather than my first. I heard a slight grunt behind me, which, to me, said that they had figured out I wasn't going to face them willingly. It was interesting. They were getting quicker and quicker every time.

I braced myself as sharp jab connected with my spine, just below my shoulder blades, causing me to stumble forward lightly, dropping my ball as a forearm flew around, connecting with my neck and throwing me against the wall, holding me there slightly off the ground. I opened my eyes as the pain subsided and looked past the smirking Inuzuka to Hyuuga with mixed emotions in my gaze, pain and sadness the most prominent.

The rest of the group wore emotionless faces, almost as though they were masks. Neji had his arms folded across his chest, a look of annoyance in his eyes.

"You should've quit long ago, Tamako," Neji's tone was the same as before. It, like his gaze, personality and temper, was unchanging. "We have told you many times. Basketball is for boys. Cheerleading is for girls. It has, and always will be, like that. We don't need girls like you on our team, or at our school. You shouldn't even be here."

I stayed silent, like I always did when I was confronted by any student in the school outside of the safety of my flat. I just hung there by Kiba's arm, knowing that any attempt to move was useless, because of how high I was being held off the ground. Kiba looked at Neji over his shoulder and, once the Hyuuga gave a bitter nod, removed his arm from neck, leaving me to fall to my feet then to my knees as they buckled underneath the sudden drop.

I heard the Inuzuka give a triumphant 'hmpf' before the five of them turned and left, leaving me on my hands and knees, a hand at my throat. I could feel how tender the skin was. It was definitely going to bruise.

After a few minutes, I forced myself to my feet and went to collect my ball which had rolled away. I paused for a moment, looking towards the door where the boys had disappeared. Maybe Hyuuga was right. Maybe I didn't belong here. I was, after all, just an orphan who got lucky.

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**o.o**

**That's the longest chapter I've ever written. Hope you liked it.**

**I might continue this if it gets enough interest. For now, it's just a random one-shot from Rain's POV.**

**Please review and tell me what you like about it.**


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